Rep. Christina Hagan, who is running for congress, says the bill will allow workers to choose whether they get a flu shot or not.

Credit OHIO HOUSE

A controversial bill dealing with whether an employer can force workers to get the flu shot is still sitting in the Ohio House. The bill is set to get a new round of committee hearings.

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The bill makes progress

The ban to keep employers from firing or punishing workers who refuse to get flu vaccines passed a House committee that focuses on economic development and labor issues. But now House leaders are sending it back for more hearings before a different panel - the House Health Committee.

Republican Rep. Christina Hagan said it protects a worker's choice to get a flu shot or not, “rather than allowing their terms of employment to force them or persuade them in any way to do something that might be counterproductive to their personal health."

But employers said the bill infringes on their right to manage their workplaces, and hospitals said vaccine requirements keep patients safe.

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A bill that would prohibit employers, including hospitals, from requiring workers to get a flu vaccine has passed out of an Ohio House committee. But there are signs that it won’t make it to the full House floor in its current form.

The bill would ban employers from firing or punishing employees who refuse to get flu vaccines passed out of committee, despite objections from many statewide health care organizations.

Some companies, especially those in the healthcare fields, require their employees to get flu shots each year. A newly released bill would make that requirement, for anyone, illegal.

Republican Representative Christina Hagan says she hears from Ohioans who have been in their fields for decades, especially those in medical careers, who continue to lose their jobs or be penalized because they refuse to get a flu vaccine. She says there’s no good reason for any employer to require employees to get the shot.